The original, exavated in 'Building Beta' at Akrotiri on Thera/Santorini, is now in the National Museum in Athens and dates to ca 1500BC. The figures are painted on the white ground of the plaster, below an expanse of red, known as the 'silent wave', due to the undulating lower edge. The head of each figure is partially shaven (conventionally shown painted blue), with two long tresses at the back and two small locks of hair above the brow.

The children wore jewellery: earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets, as well as a boxing glove on the right hand and a belt around the waist. This is the earliest known representation of boxing gloves. Professor Marinatos saw in the Boxing Boys 'two princely brothers'. If Building Beta was a private house, the two boys may well have been members of the family living there.

Made for us in Greece, our collection of ceramic wall-tiles are painted by hand, so there may be a slight variation in colour from piece to piece. In order to make them look as close to the original as possible, many of the tiles have a 'craquelure' effect, to replicate the fine pattern of "cracking" formed on the surface of paintings, in particular due to the ageing of paints and pigments.

Should you wish to put these tiles in a bathroom or garden, we recommend that you apply a coat of transparent PVA sealant to protect them from rain and frost. They are supplied ready to hang, with a sturdy, embedded metal strip or, if preferred, they can be incorporated as features within a tiled wall.